David Barton: The Jefferson Lies

Glenn introduced David by explaining how he really opened his own eyes to America’s true history that so many Americans have never heard before. In his latest book, Barton exposes the lies that are taught to Americans about Thomas Jefferson, which is exactly how he opened his interview with Glenn this morning – disproving the claim that Thomas Jefferson slept with his slave, and has descendants from Sally Hemming.

“Sally Hemming didn’t happen,” David told Glenn. “First off, it's really hard to get DNA testing. To do DNA testing in a later generation you have to have a male descendant.”

Pat expanded David’s comment explaining that in November 1998, there was supposedly a DNA test proving that it he had this lineage with Sally Hemming, but that’s not what it did.

“It did nothing of the sort. In fact, they retracted the story six weeks later - nobody carried the retraction – but it was impossible to prove Jefferson did it, because he had no male descendants, and you have to have the DNA of the male descendants,” Barton explained. He later added, “It blew out 200 years of history. But nobody ran the retraction of that DNA story in 1998.”

“The story you also sometimes hear associated with this one is that it was maybe one of his relatives – one of the twenty-seven Jefferson men – that’s not even true?” Pat asked.

“Not true,” David responded. “They did find that in the fourth child there was Jeffersons DNA – not Thomas Jefferson's DNA, but that's been known for a while too. It’s been known for 200 years that Thomas's younger brother Randolph had a relationship with some of the slaves. You can point to Jefferson's younger brother, but you still can't point to Jefferson.”

Glenn next asked David about a story that he had wrong before learning more about Thomas Jefferson – Jefferson rewriting the Scripture. “I've always heard he took out what he kind of believed were the magic tricks of Jesus. He just went to the teachings of Jesus, and he called them “Jesus of Nazareth.” It was just the teachings,” Glenn said.

David explained that there was one he did in 1804 at the White House and another in 1820 – bother were called The Jefferson Bible. The one from 1804 he did after hear a sermon that told him the best way to share the Gospel with Native Americans was to make a simple abridged version. They basically took the four Gospels and cut it down into the life of Jesus and gave it to his missionary friends. It explained the Gospel and it was cheaper to print. David also explained that it did not cut out the miracles like many claim that it does.

The version from 1820 was Jefferson’s solution to morality. Jefferson read the teachings of over thirty philosophers and after doing so found that the teachings of Jesus were the best. He pulled fifty of the moral teachings of Jesus and put them together in a book he called The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth – which, David pointed out, is also filled with the miracles of Jesus.

Glenn next asked David about Jefferson’s use of the separation of church and state.

David explained that this was a quote he used that had been in existence for 250 years. Back in 71AD the state took over the church, and for the next 1,200 years it wasn’t the church taking over the state it was the state taking control. They told the church what to enforce, they decreed the doctrine, and when Henry VII wanted a divorce, and the church said no, he said he would start his own church and give himself a divorce. One of the dissenters, because of this, said that there needs to be separation of the church and commonwealth. The pastor of the pilgrims was killed for saying that Queen Elizabeth should not be head of the church. The pastor that followed, John Robinson, became one of the big inspirations for the founder’s view of church and state.

Barton continued, explaining that Thomas Jefferson received a letter from settlers in Connecticut that they were scared to death the government was going to regulate their religious expression. This is when Jefferson said that there needs to be separation of church and state and wrote a letter to the Supreme Court.

Glenn also asked David Barton about Jefferson’s connection to Islamic terrorism. Jefferson printed the first Koran.

“He had the first war on Islamic terrorism,” Barton added, explaining that Jefferson spent five years fighting Islamic terrorism, because twenty percent of the budget was going to fighting extremists.

David closed by explaining the Glenn that the reason he wrote this book was to set the record straight. So of the history of Thomas Jefferson is backwards, like separation of church and state.

“If you've never read a David Barton book, you've not read a history book,” Glenn said. “David is one of the best, if not the best historians in America. He is doing everything he can to turn history back and write it and put it back to where it was and tell history like it was, and to tell the truth, both good and bad. Thomas Jefferson is such an important figure. This is a watershed book that you need to equip yourself with and equip your family and children with, so they know about the truth about Jefferson. It is The Jefferson Lies: Exposing The Myths You've Always Believed About Jefferson.”

This was one of the first homesteads in the area in the 1880's and was just begging to be brought back to its original glory — with a touch of modern. When we first purchased the property, it was full of old stuff without any running water, central heat or AC, so needless to say, we had a huge project ahead of us. It took some vision and a whole lot of trust, but the mess we started with seven years ago is now a place we hope the original owners would be proud of.

To restore something like this is really does take a village. It doesn't take much money to make it cozy inside, if like me you are willing to take time and gather things here and there from thrift shops and little antique shops in the middle of nowhere.

But finding the right craftsman is a different story.

Matt Jensen and his assistant Rob did this entire job from sketches I made. Because he built this in his off hours it took just over a year, but so worth the wait. It wasn't easy as it was 18"out of square. He had to build around that as the entire thing we felt would collapse. Matt just reinforced the structure and we love its imperfections.

Here are a few pictures of the process and the transformation from where we started to where we are now:

​How it was

By request a photo tour of the restored cabin. I start doing the interior design in earnest tomorrow after the show, but all of the construction guys are now done. So I mopped the floors, washed the sheets, some friends helped by washing the windows. And now the unofficial / official tour.

The Property

The Hong Kong protesters flocking to the streets in opposition to the Chinese government have a new symbol to display their defiance: the Stars and Stripes. Upset over the looming threat to their freedom, the American flag symbolizes everything they cherish and are fighting to preserve.

But it seems our president isn't returning the love.

Trump recently doubled down on the United States' indifference to the conflict, after initially commenting that whatever happens is between Hong Kong and China alone. But he's wrong — what happens is crucial in spreading the liberal values that America wants to accompany us on the world stage. After all, "America First" doesn't mean merely focusing on our own domestic problems. It means supporting liberal democracy everywhere.

The protests have been raging on the streets since April, when the government of Hong Kong proposed an extradition bill that would have allowed them to send accused criminals to be tried in mainland China. Of course, when dealing with a communist regime, that's a terrifying prospect — and one that threatens the judicial independence of the city. Thankfully, the protesters succeeded in getting Hong Kong's leaders to suspend the bill from consideration. But everyone knew that the bill was a blatant attempt by the Chinese government to encroach on Hong Kong's autonomy. And now Hong Kong's people are demanding full-on democratic reforms to halt any similar moves in the future.

After a generation under the "one country, two systems" policy, the people of Hong Kong are accustomed to much greater political and economic freedom relative to the rest of China. For the protesters, it's about more than a single bill. Resisting Xi Jinping and the Communist Party means the survival of a liberal democracy within distance of China's totalitarian grasp — a goal that should be shared by the United States. Instead, President Trump has retreated to his administration's flawed "America First" mindset.

This is an ideal opportunity for the United States to assert our strength by supporting democratic values abroad. In his inaugural address, Trump said he wanted "friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world" while "understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their interests first." But at what point is respecting sovereignty enabling dictatorships? American interests are shaped by the principles of our founding: political freedom, free markets, and human rights. Conversely, the interests of China's Communist Party are the exact opposite. When these values come into conflict, as they have in Hong Kong, it's our responsibility to take a stand for freedom — even if those who need it aren't within our country's borders.

Of course, that's not a call for military action. Putting pressure on Hong Kong is a matter of rhetoric and positioning — vital tenets of effective diplomacy. When it comes to heavy-handed world powers, it's an approach that can really work. When the Solidarity movement began organizing against communism in Poland, President Reagan openly condemned the Soviet military's imposition of martial law. His administration's support for the pro-democracy movement helped the Polish people gain liberal reforms from the Soviet regime. Similarly, President Trump doesn't need to be overly cautious about retribution from Xi Jinping and the Chinese government. Open, strong support for democracy in Hong Kong not only advances America's governing principles, but also weakens China's brand of authoritarianism.

After creating a commission to study the role of human rights in U.S. foreign policy, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote last month that the principles of our Constitution are central "not only to Americans," but to the rest of the world. He was right — putting "America First" means being the first advocate for freedom across the globe. Nothing shows the strength of our country more than when, in crucial moments of their own history, other nations find inspiration in our flag.

Let's join the people of Hong Kong in their defiance of tyranny.

Matt Liles is a writer and Young Voices contributor from Austin, Texas.

Summer is ending and fall is in the air. Before you know it, Christmas will be here, a time when much of the world unites to celebrate the love of family, the generosity of the human spirit, and the birth of the Christ-child in Bethlehem.

For one night only at the Kingsbury Hall in Salt Lake City, on December 7th, join internationally-acclaimed radio host and storyteller Glenn Beck as he walks you through tales of Christmas in the way that only he can. There will be laughs, and there might be a few tears. But at the end of the night, you'll leave with a warm feeling in your heart and a smile on your face.

Reconnect to the true spirit of Christmas with Glenn Beck, in a storytelling tour de force that you won't soon forget.